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Author Topic: Origins 2019: June 12-16  (Read 66530 times)

bayonetbrant

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Reply #120 on: June 18, 2019, 12:55:39 PM
The first rule of Origins is never listen to Brant.


it's the secret to our success

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bbmike

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Reply #121 on: June 18, 2019, 02:04:05 PM
The first rule of Origins is never listen to Brant.

How the heck did I not get a coaster???  :o


that's your own fault. I told everyone to grab one on their way out, but leave them during the weekend for us to use

Apparently I did follow the first rule.  :bigthumb:

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Staggerwing

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Reply #122 on: June 18, 2019, 07:22:31 PM
Thanks Staggerwing for the awesome coaster.

Glad you liked it!


How the heck did I not get a coaster???  :o

If they're all gone  PM me an address and I'll mail one out after the weekend.

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa


bayonetbrant

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Reply #123 on: June 18, 2019, 08:13:41 PM
They're not all gone. I'll have one for Mike at BGF or MACE

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Staggerwing

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Reply #124 on: June 18, 2019, 08:20:29 PM
 :bigthumb:

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa


panzerde

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Reply #125 on: June 18, 2019, 08:38:51 PM
The coasters were/are very cool

I actually don't really like games.

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bbmike

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Reply #126 on: June 18, 2019, 09:24:21 PM
Weird- looks like there are some placeholder images on the counter that were never replaced at print time:



Unless Decision Games got permission from both Gerry Anderson and Stanley Kubrick to use the Eagle transporter and Martian shuttle images. Some of the others look vaguely familiar as well...

Mike, do your counter sheets have them too?

Turns out those aren’t placeholder graphics. That’s the actual counter sheet I have!  :bigthumb:

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
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Advocator (Scott)

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Reply #127 on: June 18, 2019, 11:14:44 PM
My Origins haul was the lightest haul I've had.  I picked up Innovation (with the first two expansions) off the virtual market.  Beyond that, over the weekend I bought a pretzel at North Market and a new Armchair Dragoons shirt since the Grogheads one is, well, out of style I suppose (it was also incredibly large, whereas this new one actually fits).

And that was it.  Given that I wasn't able to be around for the raffle, this is the first year I've ever left without getting anything from the booth.  (I fear that Brant might catch up to the amount of stuff I've gotten from you guys, which would be a travesty).  The boy and I will suffer through the year by continuing to enjoy our past acquisitions. Had I known the coasters were up for grab, one would have made its way into my bag.  Alas, I'll have to snag one next year.

As for the dealer room... I didn't see a thing that grabbed me.  The most impressive new thing I saw were the Game Toppers that were in the board room.  They wer comfortable, no one got splinters, and they still looked like new after being used almost non-stop for the entire convention.  That was amazing advertisement on their part.

The trip home Saturday night was an adventure as Cincinnati got almost 6" of rain that evening and I'd wager that most of I-71 got hit with a lot of it.  I've never seen that much rain.  We saw water shooting a good 10-15' out of a manhole (I have no clue where the cover itself went) and every secondary route to my house was flooded.  Didn't get home until well after 3am.  It was a mess.



bayonetbrant

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Reply #128 on: June 18, 2019, 11:54:46 PM

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bayonetbrant

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Reply #129 on: June 19, 2019, 09:52:31 AM
My Origins haul was the lightest haul I've had.
That's a common refrain this year. Whether it was economics or lack of must-have products, not a lot went home with people

a new Armchair Dragoons shirt since the Grogheads one is, well, out of style I suppose (it was also incredibly large, whereas this new one actually fits).
There's no hard feelings about GH gear.  I mean, we're not going to wear it in the booth, but there's no denying the fact that for 5 years, GH was running the wargaming area, and got a lot of attention for it.  We're just doing it under a different flag now.

this is the first year I've ever left without getting anything from the booth
ACK!

(I fear that Brant might catch up to the amount of stuff I've gotten from you guys, which would be a travesty).
TBH, tho, you're one of our most regular gamers, up there with Gary M, Steve P, and Finley B.

Had I known the coasters were up for grab, one would have made its way into my bag.  Alas, I'll have to snag one next year.
I only asked that people wait 'til Sunday to take them so we had them to use throughout the convention. I never said not to take them :)

As for the dealer room... I didn't see a thing that grabbed me.
See above  :-\

The most impressive new thing I saw were the Game Toppers that were in the board room.  They were comfortable, no one got splinters, and they still looked like new after being used almost non-stop for the entire convention.  That was amazing advertisement on their part.
They were pretty sweet, but there was no practical way to smuggle one out w/o someone noticing   :whistle:

The trip home Saturday night was an adventure as Cincinnati got almost 6" of rain that evening and I'd wager that most of I-71 got hit with a lot of it.  I've never seen that much rain.  We saw water shooting a good 10-15' out of a manhole (I have no clue where the cover itself went) and every secondary route to my house was flooded.  Didn't get home until well after 3am.  It was a mess.
Yikes!  Glad you made it home

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Cyrano

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Reply #130 on: June 19, 2019, 10:59:15 AM
My family and I always start our trip back from Origins (or any big event) with a round of "Good, Bad, Indifferent".

Here's mine:

GOOD:  Seeing the crew; discussing our perverse need to purchase WWII, tactical-scale games; and seeing the Kriegsspiel again succeed.  And, for what it's worth, all of our events were at least reasonably well attended.  We could certainly have chosen differently, but I don't recall us having any no-show events.

BAD:  The food court in the convention center is now absurd in terms of price, offerings, and crowding.  We discovered the joys of going to North Market for an early lunch, but that can bugger up a schedule.  And screw that hallway Subway nonsense.  Also, not that it was bad for me, but I felt horrible walking past the ersatz celebrities hawking selfies and signed photographs for ridiculous prices being visited by no one.

INDIFFERENT:  Wargames at Origins.  We're there.  Flying Pig was there.  Don is ever mighty and did very well as, really, the only game in town.  Lost Battalion ditched at the last minute.  Proving Grounds couldn't come.  Our beloved Lock 'n Load was there only in spirit. And VPG, if I may be coarse, shit the bed with it's absurd "Dawn of the Zeds" - only booth.  Did gamers play wargmes?  Heck yes, but this was not a good year for us on the show floor.

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bayonetbrant

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Reply #131 on: June 19, 2019, 06:40:31 PM

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Adam

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Reply #132 on: June 19, 2019, 07:24:16 PM
This was my 2nd Origins and I had a lot of fun.  Being a listener of the podcast, it was nice to meet Brant and the rest of the podcast crew.  Maybe he was just tired, but Brant seemed surprised to meet a listener.  I went to 3 talks, all of which were fun and informative, and played in Kriegsspiel.  Unfortunately, my team's commander made some tactical choices that limited my own ability to make interesting choices (a lot of time was spent on rolling for his combat).  Nonetheless, it was a worthwhile endeavor and I would like to play again the next time that I go to origins.  Thanks to Doug for running the event! 

In terms of non ACG, I played full games of Fire in the Lake and Space Corps and demo'd several other games.  Both FiTL and SC were fun. I'm not quite sure how I feel about how COIN games incentivise screwing over your historic "ally" (I was US and repeatedly moved ARVN out of towns in order to remove COIN control and lower his score).  The only demo worth noting was Gloomhaven.  I had never played before and was blown away by just about every aspect of the game.  The game has been gushed over in prior podcasts and now I totally get why.  Coincidentally, Miniature Market had a flash sale on Gloomhaven which made the purchase all the easier.

In terms of new kit, I concur with prior comments in that there weren't any convention standouts.  As I noted in one of the ACG talks, like most, my ability to play games doesn't keep pace with my purchasing habits.  Growing every more conscientious of this sad fact, I am trying to only buy games that I think having interesting mechanics, cover a non-traditional historical period (no more WW2!), and/or have a reasonable shot at being played.  That being said, the component quality of new releases is absolutely stunning. 

Traveling from California makes Origins a bit expensive con-wise so I don't know if I'd be willing to go every year, but I definitely plan to revisit.  All in all, I had a great time.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2019, 07:28:52 PM by Adam »



mirth

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Reply #133 on: June 19, 2019, 07:31:10 PM
Traveling from California makes Origins a bit expensive con-wise so I don't know if I'd be willing to go every year, but I definitely plan to revisit.  All in all, I had a great time.

You're hardcore, man!  :bigthumb:

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Reply #134 on: June 19, 2019, 08:04:13 PM
The only demo worth noting was Gloomhaven.  I had never played before and was blown away by just about every aspect of the game.  The game has been gushed over in prior podcasts and now I totally get why.

Gloomhaven really is very well done.  My group has played 23 scenarios so far.  We've yet to lose interest, which is something that I can't say about many other games after that many plays.  The retirement system is really smart.  By the time you're starting to feel that you've moved from getting your character to being a bit bored of it, you're likely going to be retiring (if you haven't already).  We've had three retirements so far and each of us has been pleasantly surprised at how different they have been from what we played before.

I may  have mentioned it earlier, but I'm really surprised how many people I saw playing Root since it's really a COIN game.  A lot quicker and cuter than the COIN games.  But a COIN game none the less.  Maybe the booth should run some of the hidden war games like that, trick people into moving from little wooden cats to cardboard chits.